


Patronage

by untropicalisland



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate POV, Canon Compliant, Canon Temporary Character Death, Gen, spoilers through episode 94
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:02:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/untropicalisland/pseuds/untropicalisland
Summary: The Wildmother assists an irreverent and panicky archfey pretending to be a god, only to later find herself in the position of having a warlock.
Relationships: Artagan & Melora
Comments: 3
Kudos: 64





	Patronage

It had been a long time since a member of the Clay family had passed, and when She felt it, like the guttering and subsequent extinguishing of a tiny flame, a sudden flare of worry caught Her. Yes, even this tradition of worship would one day cease, for that was the way of things, but it was too soon, too soon for the family and too soon for this one, with a few (centuries, She thought? mortals remember time, gods need to think back on it) left in a natural life and the rest of the Clays still frozen. He had never asked Her for specifics, so his companions would be left with no clues to find the rest of them. And to die like this? Accidentally? He hadn’t even -

The ritual didn’t call for Her, but it called for Her cleric, her Clay. She felt a rush of relief as she sent a ghost of her aspect to his side to see him safely home.

She could see one of Her cleric’s companions on her knees in the mud. So small, blue like a summer sky, a green cloak of fine fabric but heavily weather-stained, deep in this well. Her face was set as she held out the diamond over Clay, his body marked with arrows and shrapnel and blood.

She saw another figure, barely more substantial than herself. A tall and thin one, green-cloaked as well, his face panicked.

“Shit! I’d just gotten a handle on the healing! I don’t know how to _defy life and death itself_! Fuck!” He ran a hand through thick red curls, looked up, and saw Her.

“Do you you know how to do this?”

She did not speak aloud, but made Herself heard in the mind of this being. Archfey, She could tell. Archfey and something else slowly growing within him, a symbiotic vine that was beginning to become part of the tree. She made a note to consider this later as she put the images in his mind. His eyes, already wide with apprehension, became wider and the green of them was brilliant. The specters of her hands engulfed the specters of his, which in turn surrounded the small blue woman, and together they sent breath back into Her cleric.

“Thank you,” said the Archfey-and-something-else. “Good to know for next time.”

_You owe me_ , She thought to him. It seemed...small of Her, even as She thought it. The anxiety was passing and with it came an irritation - what if She had not shown him?

“Oh I am well aware. Although technically I did bring yours back. But your cleric, and his delightful color scheme, may one day save mine, so I suppose I don’t want to hedge my bets...are you sure Jester bringing him back doesn’t count?”

_You know it does not, Archfey._

“I owe you one favor, my Lady,” he said, dropping into an impossibly low stance that included both a bow and curtsy.

_I will call on you when the time comes,_ She thought, gazing on Clay, breathing slowly, a little dazed but safe, as she pulled her aspect back from this plane....

....something dark and briny and hateful by Her tree, wrapped around the heart one of the companions of Clay, but at the same time something inside of this man fighting it from within even as he slept.

He had potential, when She began looking for it. Few mortals can resist such a call from a dark force but he was trying, harder than most. She could feel sleepless nights and skipped heartbeats in this one. Too many, as of late.

She had come here to provide more visions for Her cleric, and She did, visions to save his home, to find his family, to end the blight that was slowly choking Her gift and Her creation. She saw Clay’s chest rise and fall, and a slight smile in his sleep, and then she turned back to the restless one.

He deserved something better. She could not act on his behalf, but She could grant a reprieve, a few good nights, a second chance. She showed him warmer waters and supportive vines, and she felt him relax and his slumber deepen.

And Her grass grew within the circle where both of them slept....

....bleeding and burning in Her temple, where the Dust family lived, his arm impossibly steady despite it, _so_ close. But it had to be his choice. The rules that bound Her were not the same as those for that Archfey, but there were rules nonetheless. The mortals make their own choices. That was the way.

But at least She could help him make it with a few less distractions; stopping pain was like halting the growth of a weed. He paused and let loose the sword and went to find Her cleric, and together they stood by the fire and gazed on Her symbol....

....there were questions, from Her cleric and from this new acolyte, over the next few days. Then back at Her temple as Her sword was being made anew, he sat outside and waited for Her, and when She invited him, he followed.

She thought She heard a strange laugh, as She gave this one Her power, a laugh that did not come from the dark depths....

....summoning _demons?_ She could, if She had to, but given time. Hell was far from Her domain. Somehow this follower had landed on something new, and he was no cleric, he was a man of pacts and promises, She had to keep them-

-the strange laugh appeared again, louder, and She saw the Archfey, a smug smile on his face as he watched his own cleric shadow and shelter the party in the dense forest.

“They don’t actually care if it’s a demon; just a large bestial creature will do. I’ve given mine all manner of the lesser fey in all manner of forms, although I think your green man asked for some kind of ape.”

_I know what a barlgura is, Archfey_

“Think of it as camouflage. Some fey forest spirit in whatever shape your boy wants.“

She summoned the fey spirit into the form of the creature and Her paladin’s shoulders steadied as he began to command it.

“Oh my...are you new to this?” said the Archfey. “Are you realizing what your little sworn swordsman is used to? Is it difficult for you? Patronage is far more than the mere palette swaps you've been doing, you know” he said, grinning with glee.

_Mortals surprise us Archfey, you would know_

“Oh of course, but this one is new to you and his faith is still so very... _fragile_ , and even the skinny arcane mortal can summon a simple fey creature, I mean, Mother of the Wilds, I know you’re behind the godproof gate but surely-”

_You, you know no gates you roam FREE on this plane against the Will of all the Courts and you play VERY dangerous games, Lord Artagan of the Morncrown, Traveler and false god_ and she saw his smirk freeze for a moment before he recovered.

“Easy, the beasts are but one of your aspects, be a gentle breeze for me, will you? You showed me how to restore life. I have shown you how to think laterally. And because I reluctantly admit I feel better knowing your two are here to heal my Jester - I’ve been stretched a little thin as of late - and because I need the vines of this plane to bend and the flowers of this plane to bloom in my presence at times, I will assist you when your seafoam green knight asks for strange gifts. You didn’t call, but consider this my payment. I think it follows all the rules, but ask your girlfriend if you’re not sure.”

A pause.

_Yes, the terms are met. Though you, like your kind, do all that you can to twist them, I must thank you for your assistance._

“Oh you’re _so_ welcome, Melora! You’ve been doing very well, actually. The spray of snow from the sword is a good touch. I may borrow it when I have the time to make pacts again.”

_You are pushing your luck, Archfey._

“Anything less would be boring. Anyway, we’re even,” he said, and disappeared with the flick of a green cloak.

**Author's Note:**

> inspired in part by this tumblr post: https://nottjustagoblin.tumblr.com/post/190720307327/whats-hilarious-to-me-is-that-when-melora-saw-her
> 
> original draft posted on Tumblr (hit-it-or-crit-it)  
> It's extremely fun to think about how Jester is the cleric of an archfey, a being who would normally have warlocks, and how Fjord is in part the warlock of a deity, a being who would normally have clerics, and so I wanted to look at this from the perspective of Melora.  
> While this only covers the events between episodes 55 and 79 and has a little information the party and audience officially finds out in episodes 94 and 95, it's definitely inspired by Artagan's recent (as of this writing) experience with Sehanine.  
> As always: MORE DEITY LORE.


End file.
